Invincible

I wrote this awhile back after learning that my nephew and another friend were both diagnosed with bladder cancer. Both are young men, and Thank the Lord, both are doing well now!!!

As the years go by, my hair is going wayward, my belly is going outward, and my priorities are going upward to a more mature perspective…I hope. I realize with age and maturity also comes responsibility. It becomes more and more clear everyday when Jackson asks me why I have to go to work, and my response is always “to make money”, to which he replies “for my piggybank”, and I conclude with “yes sir”. Alas, with a 3 year old it is not a conclusion to a conversation, but instead an opening for his favorite word, “WHY?”.

At any rate, my 32 years have mostly been filled with a great sense of invincibility. I dare you to tell me that I can’t do something, and I can’t wait to prove you wrong; within reason, of course. But I guess I’m slowly learning that I can’t do everything, and the great Kevin Reed is, in fact, not invincible. I’m not sure when this realization started creeping into my thick skull, but I’m really not excited about it. In all honesty, the overriding question in my mind is the same as Jackson’s …WHY?

The fact of the matter is that the bumper sticker will inevitably prove prophetic in that SHIT HAPPENS, and will continue to happen. Fortunately, life also teaches you that most of the time it happens for a reason, but more importantly, you learn how to respond to it when it happens. Intelligence comes with education, but wisdom can only come through experience. I guess that’s why the old farts always seem to have it figured out.